Davide Santon has been forced to announce an early retirement from professional football. The 31-year-old was part of the side that finished fifth in the Premier League under Alan Pardew in 2011-12.
Arriving from Inter Milan for £5million, the Italian was tasked with replacing Jose Enrique - who had recently left for Liverpool. Newcastle United fans were impressed with Santon’s marauding runs from left-back and he quickly became a first-team stalwart.
However, a knee injury caused him to lose his place to the more defensively-astute Paul Dummett in 2014 - and his career never recovered. Despite a move back to Inter Milan, Santon's knee troubles continued to plague him and he never made more than 17 league appearances in a single season again.
